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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29083929">By the Fireplace</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Soul_in_Armour/pseuds/Soul_in_Armour'>Soul_in_Armour</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood &amp; Manga</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Brothers, Gen, Parental Izumi Curtis, Parental Sig Curtis, Platonic Cuddling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 11:13:33</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>536</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29083929</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Soul_in_Armour/pseuds/Soul_in_Armour</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Izumi gets some time alone with her young students.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Izumi Curtis &amp; Alphonse Elric &amp; Edward Elric, Sig Curtis &amp; Alphonse Elric &amp; Edward Elric</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>34</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>By the Fireplace</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Izumi lowered her book, sneaking a look at the Elric brothers. They were sitting in front of the fire, bathed in a warm, golden glow. Murmurs passed between them as they sat with their backs turned to her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She returned to her book. Her students’ privacy had to be respected. Besides, she couldn’t make out most of what they were saying, apart from the occasional ‘Al’ or ‘brother.’</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The room fell quiet, save for the crackling of the fire. “Are you boys ready to go to bed yet? It’s getting late,” Izumi said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She was met with silence. Usually, this meant her students were ignoring her. Somehow, this silence was different. Neither of them were looking at her, and they were hunched over.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Alphonse rose to his feet, and came to her. He sat next to her on the couch, saying nothing. Gently, he rested his hand on her arm and mumbled “I’m not ready to go to bed yet.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She stared at him. In this moment, it became apparent how </span>
  <em>
    <span>young </span>
  </em>
  <span>he was. Of course it was always at the back of her mind, but she hadn’t given it much thought during their training sessions.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Izumi set down her book. Carefully, she put her arm around Alphonse. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He froze. He stared ahead, as if trying to process what was happening.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Just as she was about to remove her arm, he shuffled closer and laid his head on her chest. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Edward was staring intensely at her from across the room. He had stood, as still as Alphonse when she first touched him. Then, he walked to her and sat on the other side of her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She put her free arm around him, and let him rest on her side.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The boys were heated by the fire. Their skin was warm against hers. She could feel their breathing slow, and soon they were fast asleep. As she sat there, her students sleeping in her arms, her mind began to wander.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Would this be what it would be like to hold her own child in her arms?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---------------------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sig eased the door open, and peered in. The fire had died down, leaving just smouldering wood in the fireplace. He was about to turn on the light when something caught his attention.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>On the couch, with her two students snuggled against her, was Izumi. All three of them were asleep. </span>
  <em>
    <span>They look so peaceful, </span>
  </em>
  <span>he thought. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He left the room as quietly as possible, soon returning with pillows and blankets. Being careful not to nudge Izumi or the Elrics on accident, he laid the blankets over them and placed a pillow behind his wife’s head.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taking one of the larger blankets and sitting at the end of the couch, he got himself comfortable. He took one last look at the Elrics. They seemed to be reaching for each other in their sleep, their arms stretched out across Izumi’s stomach. Izumi herself had her arms around each of them, holding them both close. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He smiled fondly, remembering the excitement they both felt when Izumi was expecting. He still mourned the loss of their child, but there was comfort in knowing they could help the boys mourning the loss of their mother.</span>
</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I just wanted to write the Elric brothers getting some well deserved hugs from their fighter mum</p></blockquote></div></div>
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